Enjoy a never-before-seen screening with MIRA, the Cinémathèque régionale numérique, which preserves 94 films shot by Pierre Schmidt in 16 mm, between the 1950s and 1970s.

Dr Pierre Schmidt was born in 1912 in Strasbourg. During the Second World War, he was a medical student at the Strasbourg faculty and a surgeon at the Bon-Secours hospital in Metz. After the war, he opened his medical practice in the family home in Erstein, where his father was a veterinarian. A rather discreet man, he was known and respected by all for his immense generosity towards his patients, especially the poorest, such as the Yemeni communities.
Pierre Schmidt was a fervent ecologist, passionate about the flora and fauna of the Rieds and the forests of the Rhine which he patiently set on objectives. We owe him thousands of photographs and films, true treasures of precision and technique, ode to this fragile and threatened nature. These films show the many species of birds, mammals and plants that need to be protected today, some of which have already disappeared. A talented naturalist, but also a great humanist, he took an interest in the inhabitants of these environments and their daily lives, recording many soundtracks. He also filmed the villages and their folk festivals, or the boatmen.
He passed away in 1989 and left behind formidable documents on the wonders of the Alsatian Ried, an essential legacy to continue raising awareness of the protection of these fragile environments. MIRA now has 94 films shot by Pierre Schmidt in 16 mm between the 1950s and 1970s, deposited by his wife, Henriette Schmidt, his daughter, Geneviève Pommereuil Schmidt and François Steimer, which gives us the pleasure of commenting on a selection of images by this illustrious defender of nature within the framework of these European Heritage Days.
In Doctor Schmidt’s eye, 25 minutes.
An unpublished montage by Sophie Desgeorge and commented by François Steimer, naturalist and former departmental attaché for the protection of nature at the General Council of the Bas-Rhin, he is a member of many associations fighting for the protection of nature.